How safe are residents of Texas compared to residents of other states in the nation?
As it turns out, Texas is not among the safest states, according to data compiled by WalletHub. The popular personal finance website analyzed data and ranked the 50 states in order from safest to most dangerous. Data from 37 key safety indicators in five different categories was analyzed:
- Personal and residential safety: Assaults, thefts, and sex offenses per capita, suicide rate, firefighters per capita, and more
- Financial safety: Unemployment and underemployment rates, poverty rate, debt per income, and more
- Road safety: DUIs per capita, fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, road quality, and more
- Workplace safety: Fatal occupational injuries per 100,000 workers, injuries and illnesses per 10,000 workers, and more
- Emergency preparedness: Number of climate disasters in the past decade, and more
Data from the U.S. Census Bureau, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other sources was used.
How Does Texas Rank?
Overall, Texas was ranked in the bottom 20 percent of states, coming in as the 41st safest state. Here are Texas’ scores in each individual category:
- Personal and residential safety: 30th safest state
- Financial safety: 33rd safest state
- Road safety: 21st safest state
- Workplace safety: 33rd safest state
- Emergency preparedness: 47th safest state
Alabama ranked 40th and Florida ranked 42nd. Mississippi was rated the most dangerous state, and Vermont was rated the safest state.
Remember: While this report does not necessarily tell the whole story, it serves as a reminder of the importance of being vigilant no matter where you live.